Week of September 26, 2016

"The Church does not need brilliant personalities but faithful servants of Jesus." - Dietrich Bonhoffer

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

Talking about the presidential debates around the office this morning and the above quote came to mind. God's Kingdom will advance through the slow, steady witness of normal, faithful believers. We don't need charismatic leaders, platforms or power. We simply need to abide in the One who has all power and authority.

For the Win[dow],

Bubby Bryan

VERSE OF THE WEEK: John 15: 3-4

"Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me."

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Kazakhstan

Ethnic Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated to the region by the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-ethnic Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Non-Muslim ethnic minorities departed Kazakhstan in large numbers from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s and a national program has repatriated about a million ethnic Kazakhs back to Kazakhstan. These trends have allowed Kazakhs to become the titular majority again. This dramatic demographic shift has also undermined the previous religious diversity and made the country more than 70 percent Muslim. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian states largely due to the country's vast natural resources. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; managing Islamic revivalism; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness; developing a multiparty parliament and advancing political and social reform; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers.

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for Kazakh Christians to seize opportunities to evangelize Central Asian immigrants.
• Pray for heads of families to place their hope in Christ instead of in shamanistic practices.
• Pray for well-trained, godly leaders despite most Bible schools and seminaries being closed.
• Pray for the Uttermost workers on the field.
• Pray for the US office.

Week of September 19, 2016

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body." - CS Lewis

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

Several of us have been out of town for various trips. Nice to have everyone back in the office this week. Next week we're back on the road again to recruit goers, senders and givers.

For the Win[dow],

Bubby Bryan

VERSE OF THE WEEK: 2 Timothy 1:6-7

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Nepal

In 1951, the Nepali monarch ended the centuries-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system that brought political parties into the government. That arrangement lasted until 1960, when political parties were again banned, but was reinstated in 1990 with the establishment of a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. An insurgency led by Maoists broke out in 1996. The ensuing 10-year civil war between Maoist and government forces witnessed the dissolution of the cabinet and parliament and the re-assumption of absolute power by the king in 2002. Several weeks of mass protests in April 2006 were followed bypeace negotiations between the Maoists and government officials, and culminated in a late 2006 peace accord and the 2007 promulgation of an interim constitution. Following a nationwide Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2008, the newly formed CA declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, abolished the monarchy, and elected the country's first president. After the CA failed to draft a constitution by a May 2012 deadline set by the Supreme Court, then-Prime Minister Baburam BHATTARAI dissolved the CA. Months of negotiations ensued until March 2013 when the major political parties agreed to create an interim government headed by then-Chief Justice Khil Raj REGMI with a mandate to hold elections for a new CA. Elections were held in November 2013, in which the Nepali Congress won the largest share of seats in the CA and in February 2014 formed a coalition government with the second place Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist and with Nepali Congress President Sushil KOIRALA as prime minister. Nepal's new constitution came into effect in September 2015.

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for Jesus to be made known among unreached peoples in hard-to-access locations.
• Pray for biblical training and Christlikeness for a rising generation of church leaders.
• Pray for the Living God to restore those devastated by the earthquakes.
• Pray for the Uttermost workers in the field.
• Pray for the US office.

Week of September 5, 2016

"I gave up all for Christ and what have I found? Everything in Christ?" - John Calvin

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

Laid low yesterday for Labor Day. Watched many, many hours of glorious college football. Getting back into the swing of things today - gearing up for our annual adaptive sports camp. Everyone deserves the right to play. More info on this soon.

For the Win[dow],

Bubby Bryan, DOC

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Isaiah 55:1

"Come everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money; come buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price..."

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Mauritania

Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976 but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in a coup in 1984 and ruled Mauritania with a heavy hand for more than two decades. A series of presidential elections that he held were widely seen as flawed. A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military council that oversaw a transition to democratic rule. Independent candidate Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI was inaugurated in April 2007 as Mauritania's first freely and fairly elected president. His term ended prematurely in August 2008 when a military junta led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ deposed him and installed a military council government. AZIZ was subsequently elected president in July 2009 and sworn in the following month. AZIZ sustained injuries from an accidental shooting by his own troops in October 2012 but has continued to maintain his authority. He was reelected in 2014 to a second and final term as president (according to the present constitution). The country continues to experience ethnic tensions among three major groups: Arabic-speaking descendants of slaves (Haratines), Arabic-speaking "White Moors" (Bidhan), and members of Sub-Saharan ethnic groups mostly originating in the Senegal River valley (Halpulaar, Soninke, and Wolof). Mauritania confronts a terrorism threat by al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb, which launched successful attacks between 2005 and 2010. (CIA World Factbook)

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for the Word of God to be preached among Mauritanians in their heart language.
• Pray for God’s mercy in the wake of severe drought and a poor economy that plagues the people.
• Pray for Christ’s freedom to be understood by those suffering under the bondage of slavery.
• Pray for the Uttermost workers on the field.
• Pray for the US office.

Week of August 29, 2016

"A Jesus who never wept could never wipe away my tears." - Charles Spurgeon

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

Fall is officially here. School started last week. Football kicks off this weekend. Summer felt very scattered so its nice to get into a consistent groove. Looking forward to normal office vibes around here. Hoping it cools down too.

For the Win[dow],

Bubby Bryan, DOC

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Romans 1:16

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first the Jew and then the Gentile."

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Japan

In 1603, after decades of civil warfare, the Tokugawa shogunate (a military-led, dynastic government) ushered in a long period of relative political stability and isolation from foreign influence. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan opened its ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854 and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and an ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians hold actual decision-making power. Following three decades of unprecedented growth, Japan's economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s, but the country remains an economic power. In March 2011, Japan's strongest-ever earthquake, and an accompanying tsunami, devastated the northeast part of Honshu island, killed thousands, and damaged several nuclear power plants. The catastrophe hobbled the country's economy and its energy infrastructure, and tested its ability to deal with humanitarian disasters. Prime Minister Shinzo ABE was reelected to office in December 2012, and has since embarked on ambitious economic and security reforms to improve Japan's economy and bolster the country's international standing. (CIA World Factbook)

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PRAYER REQUESTS: 

Pray for the Gospel to take root in Japanese culture and no longer be perceived as a western religion.

Pray for drifting, over-worked, and anxious youth to find freedom in Christ.

Pray for the unity of God's Spirit to demolish barriers dividing the 120 different denominations.

Pray for the Uttermost workers on the field.

Pray for the US office.

Week of August 22, 2016

"The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven, it is a way to get people to God." - John Piper

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

Bad news: the Olympics are over. Good news: we have college football this week! For a look into how the Olympics act a snapshot of what we do all around the world - check out our article in last week's newsletter under the resources tab.

For the Win[dow],

Bubby Bryan, DOC

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Micah 6:8

"He has told you O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God?"

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Sri Lanka

The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced circa 250 B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. The Portuguese controlled the coastal areas of the island in the 16th century and the Dutch in the 17th century. The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was formally united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006, but the government regained control of the Eastern Province in 2007 and by May 2009, the remnants of the LTTE had been defeated. Since the end of the conflict, the government has enacted an ambitious program of economic development projects, many of which are financed by loans from the Government of China. In addition to efforts at reconstructing its economy, the government has resettled more than 95% of those civilians displaced during the final phase of the conflict and released the vast majority of former LTTE combatants captured by Government Security Forces. At the same time, there has been little progress on more contentious and politically difficult issues such as reaching a political settlement with Tamil elected representatives and holding accountable those alleged to have been involved in human rights violations and other abuses during the conflict. (CIA World Factbook)

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for physical and relational healing after a generation of civil war.
• Pray for the freedom of religious expression without proposed anti-conversion laws.
• Pray for growth and maturity for the indigenous Church.
• Pray for the Uttermost workers on the field.
• Pray for the US office.

Week of August 15, 2016

"Sleep in peace. God is awake." - Victor Hugo

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FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications

One cool note from the Olympics - our president is in Rio this week meeting with different Olympic committee members and representatives from various countries where we work. He was given credentials and access to the hotel where many of these officials are staying. This is huge. Pray that this access leads to meaningful conversations and future partnerships.

For the Win[dow],

Bubby Bryan, DOC

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Psalm 27:5

"For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble, he will conceal me under the cover of his tent, he will lift me high upon a rock."

COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: Jordan

Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain demarcated a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s. The area gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country's long-time ruler, King HUSSEIN (1953-99), successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population. Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. King HUSSEIN in 1988 permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank; in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, King HUSSEIN's eldest son, assumed the throne following his father's death in 1999. He implemented modest political and economic reforms, but in the wake of the 2011 "Arab Revolution" across the Middle East, Jordanians continue to press for further political liberalization, government reforms, and economic improvements. Jordan held a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014-15 term. (CIA World Factbook)

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PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Pray for current religious freedom to remain despite increasing pressure to suppress it.
• Pray for the multitude of refugees who have crossed into Jordan to clearly hear the true gospel.
• Pray for Christianity to be held in high regard so that God's work in this strategic part of the Middle East would not be thwarted.
• Pray for the Uttermost workers on the field.
• Pray for the US office.